The Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Show came to London's Olympia exhibition centre last week. Billed as Europe's biggest annual winter sports show, it offered visitors all manner of winter sports equipment, while the world's top skiers and snowboarders performed 'Big Air' stunts on a real snow jump.
 
The Ski and Snowboard Show each year enables the British public to see close up all the latest equipment, holidays and magazines, and features demonstrations which offer visitors a much clearer view of what these sports entail. For a real hands-on taster of the feel of board on snow, this year visitors were able to sample the real snow teaching slope, where expert instructors were on hand throughout the show to give free lessons. The latest clothing and equipment for the new season was available from the UK's largest ski and snowboard retailers - all of whom attended - while travel companies showcased next season's exciting holiday offers. Rounding out this razzmatazz packed event, a live music and club area (called the Xfm Boardroom) played chill out music and featured live acts throughout the course of the show with its DJs spinning a 'club vibe' especially created to suit all snow sport enthusiasts.
 
The plethora of leisure activities that come under the umbrella of "winter sports" are witnessing an explosive growth in popularity. These are sports which are fast, require dynamic and agile abilities, are very exciting, and quite simply pump the adrenaline. In fact they are exactly the same attributes that sum up the famous 'sporty' brand from Milan: Alfa Romeo. With this in mind last week Alfa Romeo UK brought their evocative model range to the vast halls of Olympia, taking up their place at the heart of the 2005 edition of the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Show.
 
In fact it is doubly apt that Alfa Romeo should have been present as they are also the official sponsors of the Italian Alpine skiing team, as they build up to the XX Winter Olympic Games in Turin early next year. The Milanese brand's famous badge has for some time been emblazoned onto the ski suits of both the Italian men's and women's Alpine skiing teams, but for this year, as part of a more ambitious project, they have formed the Alfa Romeo Ski Racing Team, consisting of eight athletes and three trainers. Alfa Romeo is counting on these champions and experts to project its image onto ski slopes and podiums the world over.
 

The female athletes in the Alfa Romeo Ski Racing Team are Isolde Kostner, Karen Putzer, Daniela Ceccarelli and Manuela Moelgg, the men are Kristian Ghedina, Giorgio Rocca, Massimiliano Blardone and Manfred Moelgg, while the top-level trainers are Gustav Thoeni, Flavio Roda and Tino Pietrogiovanna. This is a team stacked champions of the snow, athletes with a wide spectrum of qualities and experience, proven determination and competitiveness, and each of whom settle for nothing short of overall success in any competition they take part in. The Alfa Romeo Ski Racing Team athletes and trainers each drive a personalised Alfa Romeo Crosswagon Q4.
 
At Olympia last week Alfa Romeo UK presented an eye-catching display. Their gorgeous array of sporty cars ranged from the exciting new Alfa 147 hatchback, and the stylish and practical Alfa 156 Sportwagon, to the beautiful, Bertone-crafted GT Coupé. With their staff clad in enveloping ski suits brightly emblazoned with the famous Alfa Romeo badge, and with a backdrop of specially commissioned imagery, all the positive attributes of the brand (recently voted the carmaker that evokes the greatest sense of personal freedom) were perfectly demonstrated. The undeniable practical application that Alfa Romeo can offer enthusiasts of winter sports, was put into action as the cars on show were fitted with Alfa Romeo Accessory ski racks.
 
"An excellent event," is how Alfa Romeo UK Marketing Manager Roland Ellison described the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Show. "Alfa Romeo fits perfectly into the ambitions of the audience here, who lead an active, outdoor lifestyle. Response was superb, we took just over 600 positive leads, and booked up more than 300 test drives, over the five days. These are excellent volumes for this category of event." 
 
"Reaction to the Alfa Romeo cars was very positive," he adds, "We found that visitors to our stand were generally very receptive to the Alfa Romeo brand, which clearly epitomises the fashionable set of values that the audience here are seeking out. Numerous Alfa Romeo owners' dropped by to see us over the course of the week - even one fan and owner from South Africa - and we were delighted to make this important connection, demonstrating that owners feel strongly about maintaining this important thread of association," Roland added, before concluding, "It was a very well organised show, with a lot of activities and almost constant action, a nice venue - the sun shone right onto our stand - we will definitely be back next year."
 
Next stop for Alfa Romeo UK will be the MPH05 Motor Show, at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (10th-13th November) and at Earls Court, London (17th-20th November) where the highlight of the collection - and the whole show - will be the official British preview of the new Alfa 159.